Has your business calculated its carbon footprint?
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Frequently asked questions
What does Carbon Footprint mean?
Carbon footprint is the amount of direct & indirect greenhouse gases emitted by a product, activity or organisation, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
Should my business calculate its Carbon Footprint?
The short answer?
Yes.
As a supplier to business buyers, it is increasingly important to assess and manage your organisation's carbon footprint. This is because businesses and governments are under pressure to manage down their carbon emissions, including those emitted by their supply chain. In fact, many have set net zero targets and need to demonstrate (and also report) the actions they are taking to meet them.
What can you do?
First, assess your organisation's carbon footprint. Next, register on givvable and complete our carbon footprint module. Your organisation can earn search tags that boost your visibility to business buyers looking to engage with suppliers taking action on sustainability.
What are Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions?
Total Carbon Footprint means the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are directly and indirectly emitted by an organisation across its value chain. This is represented by Scope 1, 2 and 3 CO2e emissions.
Scope 1 CO2e emissions are all direct GHG emissions resulting from activities within the organisation's control (includes on-site fuel combustion, manufacturing and process emissions, refrigerant losses and company vehicles).
Scope 2 CO2e emissions are indirect GHG emissions from energy commodities (e.g. electricity) purchased and used by the organisation.
Scope 3 CO2e emissions are all other indirect GHG emissions from the organisation's activities, occurring from sources that they do not own or control. These are usually the greatest share of an organisation's carbon footprint and include emissions associated with business travel, procurement, waste and water, among other activities.
How can I get a Carbon Footprint assessment?
You can get a carbon footprint assessment for your organisation from a service provider, such as a consultant or certifier. These assessments typically adopt one or more of the frameworks outlined below and help your organisation identify the best strategic approach to reducing your carbon footprint.
There are also now many online service providers offering a range of carbon footprint assessment tools, ranging from free carbon footprint calculators to more in-depth assessments based on internal and external data.
The cost of a carbon footprint assessment typically depends on a range of factors including the scope of assessment, nature of the service being provided (e.g. consultancy vs. online tool) and whether it is based on actual or estimated data.What are the frameworks for assessing Carbon Footprint?
The frameworks for assessing carbon footprint share the common objective of providing guidance for standardising, accounting and reporting GHG emissions using science-based methodology. Different frameworks exist to comply with international standards and regional regulations. Leading frameworks include:
ISO 14064 refers to the International Organization for Standardization 14064 for the quantification and reporting of GHG emissions and removal
GHG Protocol refers to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol by World Resources Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development
US EPA refers to the United States Environmental Protection Agency Greenhouse Gas Inventory Development Process and Guidance
NGER refers to the Australian National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007
PCAF refers to the Global GHG Accounting & Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry by Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials
Should we reduce or offset our Carbon Footprint?
You should first implement carbon footprint reduction strategies before offsetting. Not only is this the recommended approach, but it can also improve your organisation's bottom line through energy cost savings, operational efficiency and better environmental, social and governance (ESG) positioning. Carbon offsets are designed to serve as short term initiatives until our system transitions to a net zero economy.
After undertaking a carbon footprint assessment, there are three ways your organisation can develop a robust carbon footprint strategy:
Stage 1: Reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO2e emissions by developing a carbon footprint management plan that identifies opportunities for internally controlled emissions reduction.
Stage 2: Reduce Scope 3 CO2e emissions by mapping your organisation's supply chain. Educate and encourage action by your suppliers. Identify opportunities for emissions reduction and bringing lower carbon products and/or services to market.
Stage 3 (Optional): Consider whether you should consider offsetting any aspect of your organisation's carbon footprint. Identify the activities to be offset, the type of offset to purchased and carry out due diligence on the robustness of offsets.Source: Carbon Trust
What are simple ways to reduce your Carbon Footprint?
First, assess your organisation's carbon footprint. Next, register on givvable and complete our carbon footprint module. Your organisation can earn search tags that boost your visibility to business buyers looking to engage with suppliers taking action on sustainability.
Simple Scope 1 emissions reductions include:
- Encouraging employees to commute to work using public transport or carpooling,
- Encouraging digital documents and files, rather than printing or storing physical documents.
- Purchase sustainable office and pantry items (avoid disposable items, including cutlery, cups and plates).
- Installing energy efficient lighting, appliances and/or building insulation.
- Switch off lights, equipment and appliances when not in use.
- Using video and tele-conferencing rather than flying to attend business meetings.
- Encouraging waste separation with clearly labelled bins for general, recyclable, bio-degradable and hazardous etc. waste categories.
- Install efficient water fixtures where appropriate, such as low flow taps.
- Use heating and cooling only in areas where it is needed (e.g. corridors)
- Using electric or hybrid fleet vehicles.Simple Scope 2 emissions reductions include:
- Switching to renewable energy sources for electricity needs. This can be done by installing solar panels or switching to green energy suppliers.
Simple Scope 3 emissions reductions include:
- Implementing a sustainable procurement policy.
- Choosing sustainable transportation options to deliver services or transport goods.
- Procuring from suppliers that have calculated and are actively managing down their carbon footprint.
- Procuring from suppliers that have set net zero targets using science-based methodology.
- Procuring from suppliers with third party verified sustainability credentials.
- Procuring from suppliers with demonstrated awareness and understanding of emerging buyer requirements on sustainability.What is Carbon Footprint offsetting?
A carbon offset is intended to compensate your carbon emissions by investing in projects that prevent, reduce or remover carbon emissions, such as tree plantation, renewable energy and waste-to-energy. These types of projects can result in social and economic 'co-benefits', in addition to avoiding carbon emissions.
Offsets can come from voluntary or compliance markets. There are two approaches to offsetting: forward offsetting (i.e. future activities) and offsetting in arrears (i.e. cancelling emissions from past activities).
Offsets can be purchased through specialised carbon offset retailers. Even though the standards for offsets are becoming more stringent, the number of carbon-saving projects that may be invested in is increasing.
Examples of verified carbon standards include The Gold Standard (GS), carbon farming initiative (CFI), as well as National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS) in Australia.
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